1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of preparing dye from natural materials. The dye derived from the method of the present invention can be used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries.
2. Description of the Related Art
A method of preparing dye from the lobes, pistils and pollen of the hibiscus plant is well known. The method comprises extracting the dye using organic acids, removing the solvents, and drying and refining the dye into a form that can be sold commercially. The red dye prepared in this way is often used in cosmetics, such as lipstick, nail polish, shampoo and blush.
The disadvantages of using dye prepared from the hibiscus are that only red colors can be obtained and that the low adhesive properties of the dye prevent its use as a hair color product. In addition, the method of obtaining dye from the hibiscus is ecologically unsound because organic acids are used in the extraction.
Another known source of natural dyes is red algae. Red algae can be dried and ground, producing an insoluble powder made up of 200-400 micron particles. This dye has similar disadvantages to the dye obtained from hibiscus: it is only available in the color red and it can not be used as a hair color product because of its low adhesive properties.
A brown dye of natural origin can be prepared from the rind of the ripe walnut. Such a dye is described in USSR Certificate No. 1784623 (1992). This dye is often used in the food-processing industry to stain confectionery products brown so that they resemble chocolate. However, this dye tends to degrade over time. Thus, the dye cannot be used in foods, such as cookies, which require long-term storage. Additionally, the dye""s lack of stability renders it unsuitable for cosmetics, such as hair color products. Moreover, a black dye cannot be obtained from ripe walnut rinds.
A black dye used in food products is derived from drying and refining tea leaves. The tea leaves are ground to particles of 200-400 microns and water-extracted at 92xc2x0 C. for 20 minutes. The tea extract can be separated from the sediment by centrifugation and/or filtration. The extract is then dried and a soluble powder obtained. However, the low degree of extractability of this dye is disadvantageous.
Thus there exists a need for a black dye produced from natural materials that may be used in a wide variety of contexts, including hair color products, foodstuffs and cosmetics. There is an additional need for a method of producing such a dye in a high yield manner.
The method of the present invention comprises obtaining unripe walnut rinds, drying said walnut rinds to produce dried walnut rinds, and grinding the dried walnut rinds to form a dispersible powder.
The method of the present invention comprises grinding the rind of unripe walnuts to form a dispersible powder. This dispersible powder may be used as a dye. In another embodiment, the dispersible powder is subject to water extraction to produce a liquid dye. In a third embodiment, the liquid dye is dried, producing a powdered dye.
The ability to extract dye from natural materials can be influenced by a number of different factors. In particular, the ability to extract dye depends upon the solubility of the dye in a particular solvent, such as water. It is well known that the solubility of dye contained in particles increases with the increasing surface area of the particles. Thus, reducing the dye-containing rind in the method of the present invention to dispersible particles of less than 100 microns increases the solubility and hence efficiency of extraction considerably compared to the use of 200-400 micron particles in methods known in the art.
Only six species of walnut are native to the United States. About fifteen others of this type of trees are from South America, the West Indies, Southern Europe and Asia. Any of these species can be used in the context of the present invention. The fruit of the walnut tree is a nut that grows on the tree. It is enclosed in a thick leathery shell which does not split open until it is ripe. The thick leathery shell is referred to herein as the xe2x80x9crindxe2x80x9d of the walnut. Rinds which have not yet split open are referred to herein as xe2x80x9cunripexe2x80x9d walnut rinds. The rind of unripe walnuts is used as a source material in the method of the present invention.
The rinds of unripe walnuts must be separated from the nutmeat and other components of the nut. This may be accomplished by any method known in the art, such as those techniques used for pitting prunes and other fruit. The rinds are dried until they contain no more than 50% water by mass. More preferably, the rinds are dried until they contain less than 20% water by mass. Any method of drying known in the art may be employed. One example is drying in a gas stream of 70-100xc2x0 C.
The dried rind is then refined to produce a dispersible powder comprising particles less than 100 microns in diameter and containing no more than 10% water by mass. More preferably, the particles are no more than 50 microns in diameter and the dispersible powder contains no more than 2 to 3% water by mass. This may be done by any of a variety of methods known in the art. In the preferred embodiment, this is accomplished in two stages. In the first stage, the rinds are crushed to produce particles of no more than 0.1-10 mm in diameter. More preferably, the particles produced are no more than 0.5-1 mm in diameter. In the second stage, the particles are further reduced in size to less than 100 microns in diameter. This may be done, for example, in a rotational grinding mill. Simultaneously the particles are further dried in a gas stream of no more 80-90xc2x0 C. The resulting dispersible powder is preferably composed of particles less than 100 microns in diameter and contains no more than 10% water by mass. More preferably, the particles of the resulting dispersible powder are no more than 50 microns in diameter and the dispersible powder contains no more than 2 to 3% water by mass. The dispersible powder may be used directly as a dye. For example it can be used to dye foodstuffs. Alternatively, the dispersible powder may be subject to water extraction as described below to produce a more pure dye.
The dispersible powder is mixed with water and extracted by boiling for not less than 30 minutes. The ratio of dispersible powder to water is preferably between 2:1 and 1:20. More preferably, the ratio of dispersible powder to water is no more than 1:7 during the water extraction. Following boiling, sediment is removed from the liquid extract. This may be done by any method known in the art. For example, the extract may be filtered.
In a further embodiment, during the extraction process the mixture of dispersible powder and water is subject to sonication. Preferably, the frequency will be not less than 10 Hz.
In one embodiment a preservative is added to the liquid extract to prevent breakdown of the dye. For example, benzoic acid (1-3% by mass) may be added to the liquid extract. In this embodiment, the liquid extract may be bottled and sold commercially as a dye that may be used, for example, in hair color products.
In another embodiment, the liquid extract is dried by spray drying at a temperature of 100-170xc2x0 C. This will result in a powdered dye containing no more than 2-3% water by mass. However, any method known in the art for reducing a water-based extract to a powder may be used. The resulting powder may be sold commercially as a dye for use in cosmetics, foodstuffs and hair color products.
The black dye powder obtained by the method of the present invention contains natural biologically active compounds. For example, the dye may have anti-sclerotic activity and may reduce cholesterol when consumed in foodstuffs.